SCUTTLEBUTT 2515 – January 21, 2008

Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features
and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published
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JOYON SHATTERS ROUND THE WORLD RECORD
At the age of 51, Francis Joyon is once again the fastest solo yachtsman
around the world, having completed his non-stop record attempt in 57 days, 13
hours, 34 minutes and 6 seconds. He has shattered the previous record, held
since 2005 by the British yachtswoman, Ellen MacArthur by 14 days, 44 minutes
and 27 seconds. Joyon and the 97-foot IDEC trimaran crossed the finishing
line off Brest on Sunday 20th January 2008 at 00h39'58. Onboard IDEC, Francis
Joyon covered more than 26,400 nautical miles at an average speed of 19.09
knots. Throughout the passage, IDEC sailed “cleanly”, without the use of any
fossil fuel (no engine), generating its own energy with a wind turbine and
solar panels.

Francis Joyon becomes the only solo sailor in the world to have established
the non-stop single-handed round the world voyage record aboard a multihull
on two occasions (first set in 2004). Additionally, Joyon’s passage achieved
the second best time ever for sailing around the world, including crewed
voyages! Joyon surpassed the crewed record set by Steve Fossett’s giant
Cheyenne (58 days, 9 hours and 32 minutes in April 2004), with only the crew
of Bruno Peyron’s maxi-catamaran Orange II still holding the outright record
in just over 50 days. -- http://www.trimaran-idec.com

* Curmudgeon’s Comment: Joyon’s program was criticized early on by the
English speaking press, as his sponsor apparently did not see the need to
translate their daily updates from French. However, as the success of his
effort became imminent, the updates started coming in English too. Now, his
team has provided a blow-by-blow account of Joyon’s record-setting voyage… in
English. Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/0120

OLYMPIC SAILING DOWN UNDER
* Takapuna, New Zealand – The RS:X Men’s and Women’s Worlds finished this
weekend with Tom Ashley (NZL) and Alessandra Sensini (ITA) winning their
respective titles. While this is not the strongest class for the North
American contingent, there were some highlights from the event. Nikola Girke
(CAN) qualified for the Gold flight, finishing 37th and as a result, became
her country’s representative at the 2008 Olympics. In the men’s event, the
three qualifiers for the Gold flight were Zac Plavsic (CAN) in 28th, David
Mier y Teran (MEX) in 30th, and David Hayes (CAN) in 45th.

The Worlds was the final event for those countries that have not yet
qualified for the RS:X event at the 2008 Olympic Games. While the contending
North American countries had qualified on the men’s side, the same couldn’t
be said for the women. With 28 available slots for the women’s class at the
Games, the final seven places were decided this week, with twelve nations
fighting for qualification. None of those twelve nations made it through to
the women’s gold fleet, so the battle was fought in the silver fleet, with
Mexico and USA succeeding in their quest to be at the Games. Final Standings:
Thailand (1st), Mexico (12th), Hungary (15th), Argentina (20th), Russia
(21st), USA (22nd), and Cyprus (23rd) qualifying for the Olympics, with
Armenia (25th), Estonia (28th), Turkey (31st), Uruguay (33rd), and Croatia
(36th) on the outside looking in. -- http://www.rsxclass.com/worlds2008.html

* Melbourne, Australia – The Sail Melbourne regatta was the first ISAF Grade
1 Olympic event in 2008 for the 470, Finn, Laser, Laser Radial, and Tornado
classes, and with the 470 and Finn Worlds beginning this week, and the other
classes to have their championships in either Australia or New Zealand within
the next two months, this past week proved to be a prominent preview for this
Olympic year. -- Final report: http://www.sailing.org/21961.php

ANOTHER FREE VIDEO HITS UK-HALSEY’S WEBSITE
“The Care and Maintenance of Inflatable PFD’s” is loaded with important
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overboard. Reviewing this short video could save your life or a crewmember’s.
It’s free to anyone who logs on to UK-Halsey’s website. This expands the
on-line library of safety videos UK-Halsey has put up, each a concise and
useful tool in making your sailing safer: check them out. After all, better
to lose a few minutes on-line than a sailor overboard.
http://www.ukhalsey.com/download.asp

QUOTE / UNQUOTE
Commenting on Francis Joyon breaking her record, a visibly moved Ellen
MacArthur said, “I really had to give everything I had to beat his 2004
record; now he betters mine by 14 days. Amazing seamanship, ideal weather,
and a faster boat are the key factors, but above all I cannot express how
much respect I have for the man.”

JOHN MANDERSON - ON A LEAVE OF ABSENCE
by Lynn Fitzpatrick
If you want to see a changed man, catch up with John Manderson. Almost
overnight he’s been transformed into a guy who is grinning from ear to ear.
John is on sabbatical. Call his office number and the message says that he’ll
be away from the December through May. As for his residence in New Jersey, it
’s locked up tightly and the neighbors are keeping an eye on it. His car? “I
don’t need it here. It’s up north.” John is a marine biologist with a PhD
turned full-time Star sailor for the next four months.

Like most of the other Star, Yngling, Laser and Laser Radial sailors who have
come to Miami, FL to train for upcoming Grade 1 events, John has rented an
apartment for the sailing season and he gets around town on his bicycle.
Unlike many of the other sailors, nothing is on the line for him. Competing
in the Olympics means nothing to him. All he wants to do is learn how to sail
a Star over the next five months. -- Read on:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/lf

(Day 71 – January 20, 2008) There is a pair of battles taking place in the
Barcelona World Race as the fleet moves into the South Atlantic. Currently,
just Educación sin Fronteras remains in the Southern Ocean, with the top four
boats all having made the turn at Cape Horn. The battle at the front is being
fought in a give and take manner, with one and then other of the first two
boats racking up a daily advantage. On Saturday, it was Paprec-Virbac 2 who
was regaining some of their lead. But over the past 24 hours, despite less
than ideal conditions, Hugo Boss has made up 68 miles. “It’s a bit bumpy for
us right now. We had up to about 37 knots of wind last night and now we're
sailing on the other gybe in a leftover sea,” said Hugo Boss skipper Alex
Thomson. “We're trying to keep the boat fairly slow as leaping over waves
isn't very pleasant.” -- http://www.barcelonaworldrace.com

WORLD CLASS COMPETITION ON DECK IN KEY WEST
(January 20, 2008) For the past six months, Ernesto Bertarelli, Brad
Butterworth and other key figures with the Alinghi Racing syndicate have been
locked in a bitter dispute over the future of the America’s Cup. For one week
at least, the leaders of the Swiss syndicate are putting aside the
controversy in order to compete in Acura Key West 2008, which represents the
first of three major regattas leading up to the 11th Farr 40 World
Championships, being held off Miami in mid April.

As usual, Acura Key West has attracted a strong fleet with 262 boats in 16
classes, with racing to begin on Monday. Organizer Premiere Racing plans to
conduct as many as 10 races over five days on the azure waters off the
southernmost point of the United States. Forecasts call for steady 25-30 knot
winds on Monday morning and event director Peter Craig said racing could be
delayed or postponed. Blogging from all four courses will be occurring during
the races, with Kattack race tracking and daily video reports available at
the end of the day. Look for links on the Premiere-Racing.com website. --
Complete report:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=5718

* Dean Barker, skipper for Emirates Team New Zealand in the 2007 America’s
Cup, is sailing in the Farr 40 fleet with Hasso Plattner onboard Morning
Glory, and recently provided an interview with Radio New Zealand, discussing
how he started sailing, his thoughts on youth sailing, and the current state
of the America’s Cup: http://tinyurl.com/2ykab7

LET HARKEN AND MCLUBE HELP TO STEP UP YOUR GAME AT KWRW
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GADGETRY TO FIND THE TWO BOAT LENGTH CIRCLE
On an offwind leg, you are approaching the leeward mark, but a competing boat
is closing the distance from behind, and tracking a path that would take it
in between your position and the mark. You reach the two-boat length circle
and hail “No Room,” but your competitor vehemently disagrees. Moments later
they are rounding the mark inside of you, and the air is littered with nasty
dialogue.

There is a protest protocol to deal with the ins-and-outs of this situation,
but Mike Reifer believes there is a cleaner solution to this common
occurrence. For the past 5 years, Reifer has been brainstorming a project to
provide precise information regarding the proximity of a boat to a rounding
buoy for the purpose of accurately defining the two-boat length zone and
fairly applying RRS 18.

An engineer by profession, Reifer has developed a fully functional prototype
that consists of two components: a transmitter that would be attached to a
rounding buoy, and a receiver mounted on a competing boat. Essentially, the
device provides the distance from the buoy to the boat on an LCD readout.
Exceedingly accurate and tested thus far to a distance of 225 feet, Reifer
plans to soon integrate an enunciator light and/or audible signal that would
be set to activate at a preset value (ie, two of the boat's lengths). –
Scuttleblog, read on:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2008/01/future-gadgets.html

VOLVO OCEAN RACE COMING TO INDIA
* Kochi, in the Indian state of Kerala, has been confirmed as the host port
for the second stopover of the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race, which starts October
4, 2008. The Indian stopover will come at the end of the second leg of the
race from Cape Town, South Africa. This schedule is a slight revision from an
earlier plan, which had the second leg going to the Middle East, and the
third leg going to India. The seven yachts participating in the race will
arrive in Kochi in December 2008 and will stay for 10 days, before starting
leg three to Sentosa Island in Singapore. -- http://www.volvooceanrace.org

* The overall budget to host the event is Rs 150 million (3.8 million USD).
Port chairman Ramachandran reckoned that 5,000 hotel rooms would be required
to host the travellers. The race (VOR) managers have waived the
10-million-euro licence fee (14.6 million USD) for India as it is hosting the
event for the first time. Kochi beat Mumbai, Chennai, and Goa to host the
stopover. -- The Telegraph-Calcutta, full story:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080119/jsp/--/story_8801236.jsp

SAILING SHORTS
* ISAF has announced that Porto Alegre, Brazil will host the Grand Final of
the 2009 ISAF Nations Cup. In March 2009, the Veleiros do Sul sailing club in
Porto Alegre will host the world’s top match racing nations as they battle in
both men’s and women’s divisions for the fifth edition of the ISAF Nations
Cup. Between September 2008 and January 2009, seven Regional Finals will take
place in Argentina, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, the USA, and Oceania to
decide which nations will be represented at the Grand Final in Porto
Alegre. -- Full report:
http://www.sailing.org/21956.php?PHPSESSID=5c95df5368bebcf1352852ef53c8e61b

* John Kilroy’s Samba Pa Ti grabbed an IRC trifecta in the 33rd annual Fort
Lauderdale to Key West Race: first to finish, first in IRC class A and first
for IRC overall on corrected time. Forty-three of the forty-nine entered
boats started shortly after 1 p.m. on Wednesday, January 16, and Kilroy
charged in before midnight after the 160-mile reach. Along the way,
navigators had to "connect-the-dots" to keep the fleet between all major
Florida Keys markers and the Gulf Stream. Entrants, in two classes for IRC,
four for PHRF and two for Multihull, ranged in size from a 76' catamaran to
two 21' mini Transats. -- Complete report:
http://www.keywestrace.org/news2.html

* Harbor Springs, MI -- Little Traverse Yacht Club's (LTYC) 48th Annual
Regatta and One Design Series, fondly known as the "Ugotta Regatta" that
follows the Mackinac Races each year, will attract extra attention this year
when it doubles as the second Rolex US-IRC National Championship. Scheduled
for Friday through Sunday, July 25-27, 2008, the event will take place on
Little Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan. Approximately a 50 nm delivery from
Mackinac to Harbor Springs, the Nationals will limit the IRC Division 1 to 50
boats where the battle for the Rolex US-IRC National crown will ensue. --
Full report: http://www.us-irc.org/newsfull.cfm?ID=71

CHARLESTON RACE WEEK APRIL 17-20, 2008
Online registration is open and discount applies until January 31! Come enjoy
great racing in the harbor and offshore in one of America’s favorite cities.
Amazing beach parties every evening featuring Gosling’s Dark n’ Stormies and
grand prizes on Sunday from event sponsor Raymarine. PHRF, one-design and IRC
friendly. http://www.charlestonraceweek.com

LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON
Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be
edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words).
You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine
if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the
Scuttlebutt Forum.

* From Ted Hood: Very sad news to hear that Maddies is closing. Many a sailor
has been caught off guard by their super-size cocktails. My cousin, Bill, was
a dependable fixture there, a truly affable guy much like Norm on “Cheers”. I
last saw him there in 2004, holding court on his favorite bar stool only two
weeks before he unexpectedly passed away, and can only imagine that Maddies
must have been struggling ever since. A little history – there actually was a
sail loft operating out of the back for much of the early-mid 1900’s. My
father, Ted, remembers sitting at the bar as an 8 year old nursing a ginger
ale while his grandfather drank his “heart medicine” (Caldwell’s rum). He
eventually moved his fledgling sailmaking business into the existing loft out
back, sharing it with Charlie Parsons, and worked there from 1950-1954 before
moving down the street to Little Harbor. Shortly after, the floor was sagging
18” and they had to tear down that entire wing of Maddies. The “sail loft”
name stuck ever since.

* From Craig Fletcher: First Snug Harbor in Newport Beach (CA), now Maddie's
in Marblehead (MA). What will be next… the AC bar or Candy Store in Newport
RI? What is the world coming too?

* From Virginia Crowell Jones, West Tisbury, MA: The incidence of fatal and
or serious head and neck injuries caused by gybes and contact with the boom,
or even the sheets, is a lot larger than the CCA Fleet Surgeon compiled, and
I'm surprised that he didn't include any for some of the races along Long
Island Sound where I know that there have been serious accidents. It seems to
me that there have been a lot of incidents over the years but perhaps they
were categorized in a different way. And how about folks getting batted over
board by the lift of a headsail or by spinnaker poles, spinnaker sheets, etc?
Maybe the Fleet Surgeon should poll some of the major sailing clubs and yacht
clubs for their experiences and compile a very comprehensive list. It would
make very interesting and informative reading.

* From Skip Allan, Capitola, CA: Kudos to CCA and Scuttlebutt for publicizing
the simple and effective use of a boom preventer. Most booms now days are
quite rugged in the area of the vang, and this is as good or better location
than the boom end for preventer attachment. Preventers do not have to be
tight to be effective. They can be left with enough slack so the boom
approaches, but does not cross the leeward corner of the transom. This keeps
the crew and rig safe, but allows the boom to swing inward when surfing a
wave, or laying down in a broach.

* From Amy Smith Linton, Tampa FL: Back in the early 1990's, I was aboard the
Cal 39 Endangered Species on the Regatta del Sol al Sol from St. Petersburg,
FL to Isla Mujeres, Mexico when we broke a boom. We were a couple of hours
out of Tampa Bay in breezy, bumpy conditions, flying along under a big
spinnaker, with the boom vanged out to the leeward rail. I can't say if a
wave tossed us, or the wind shifted, or if we just got a little beyond
square, but the boat broached and the boom went boom.

Fifteen exciting minutes later, we were motoring back home, with some heroic
bruises but no serious damage to any crew members. The story continues with
somebody breaking out the emergency rations of Yukon Jack and cigars, dueling
cell phones, and having a new boom waiting for us at the dock, but the point
is, yes, I believe the boom broke because of the preventer.

=> Curmudgeon’s Comment: Mike Hobson from MyBoatsGear.com told us about an
alternative to the preventer called the boom brake. Apparently Dutchman,
Walder one and Wichard each makes one, and while they don’t stop accidental
gybes, their design adds friction so that the boom does not come flying over
but does so at a controlled rate. The advantage is that the boom does not get
pinned on the wrong side, and the rate at which the boom comes over can be
determined by different line tension settings. More details at
http://myboatsgear.com/mbg/product.asp?prodID=1075